North West had a first birthday party she’ll never remember last weekend in the form of Kidchella, a Coachella-inspired free-for-all that was really more of an excuse for the adults to get wild than it was for the kids to have fun, but whatever. Rides were ridden, food was eaten and Khloe wore a Native American headdress which didn’t go over too well with the community.
From Page Six:
“Wow,” said Cliff Matias, cultural director of the Redhawk Native American Arts Council, upon seeing the images.
“There’s no way she’s not in tune with what’s been happening in the media,” Matias said, referring to the Redskins’ trademark cancellation. “I can’t even say she’s not even aware.”
Matias called the snapshot “insensitive” and says celebrities can no longer pretend they are ignorant on the issue. “It’s terrible,” insisted Matias. “It’s absolutely terrible that they have no conscience to discontinue to do such things.”
When asked if he’s offended when he sees celebrities disrespecting his culture for “art” or style, Matias replied, “Of course.”
“But it’s also sad. It’s really sad that people who are celebrities don’t take the responsibility and the understanding that they are trendsetters and they influence people, especially young people. It’s a responsibility that I don’t think a lot of them acknowledge that they have.”
He continued, “I just can’t believe she would be that insensitive to think it was OK to wear that war bonnet at a kids’ party … Now you have a celebrity at a kids’ party creating a whole new generation of insensitive thinking.”
This is somewhat of a tough one, because clearly Khloe didn’t sit down thinking, “Hmm, I think I’ll offend some Native Americans today”. HOWEVER, intention isn’t really the point. Perhaps the point is that she didn’t think at all and has that luxury, as she’s never been discriminated against in any way. Her ignorance is kind of the point, and the fact that people look up to her means that they will think ignorance is okay, yada yada.
The best thing that could happen here is that Khloe could realize the error of her ways, apologize and use the experience to learn from and be more thoughtful in the future. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that, though.
Are people really this ignorant? Can we really blame stupidity? I mean come on. If you hand me something to wear from a different culture, I’m going to want to know what I’m wearing and why. It’s really not somewhat of a tough one. It’s about respect for what a headdress is really worn for and represents in Native culture. It’s not a fashion statement for some snotty celebrity to wear. But whenever someone calls them out on it, we are just being whiny and should get over it. What would happen if she decided to don a Pope hat? Sh** would hit theeee faaaan!